


Seventeen Dollar Oatmeal

by Skara_Brae



Category: Legally Blonde - All Media Types, Legally Blonde - Hach/O'Keefe/Benjamin
Genre: Brunch, F/M, Meeting the Parents, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skara_Brae/pseuds/Skara_Brae
Summary: Just a Sunday morning with Emmett and Elle. A visitor drops by...
Relationships: Emmett Forrest/Elle Woods
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	Seventeen Dollar Oatmeal

**Author's Note:**

> I was ill recently and passed the time watching "Legally Blonde: The Musical" about 15 times. This little snippet popped into my head and I had to write it down. Hope you enjoy reading it! Thank you, SB

Emmett Forest sat on his couch and tried to concentrate on the brief in his hands. Elle had just unsuccessfully spent a half hour trying to convince him to come to brunch with her and her friends. (“They’re your friends too, Emmett!”) but he had put her off. It wasn’t that he disliked brunch, or Elle’s (his) friends. He just knew that he’d hate where they went. Knowing that crowd, it was probably one of those frou-frou places that gave you a “complimentary” watered-down mimosa and then charged you seventeen dollars for a bowl of oatmeal. Not his kind of place at all.

The sound of Elle’s hair dryer emanated from the bathroom. He paid half attention to the brief, halfway thinking that he’d go for a run after Elle left. Better to get it done before the day got too hot, then go to the market. Maybe he’d buy a nice bottle of wine and make dinner to make it up to Elle. His train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door.

It was probably just Mrs. Sullivan, the elderly lady who lived down the hall, needing help opening a jar again. He pasted on a smile as he opened the door, only to have his mouth fall open in surprise at who was on the other side.

“Mom…”

His mother bustled in. “Hi sweetie. Sorry to just drop in on you like this. I would’ve called, but we both know you wouldn’t have picked up.”

“Mom, that’s not… I don’t…” His brain registered that the hair dryer had stopped in the background, and a second later he heard Elle call out. “Em? Did you say something?”

The bathroom door opened and Elle stepped out. Her pale hair was in glossy waves over her shoulders. She was wearing nothing but a pair of pink panties and his old Harvard tee shirt that had shrunk in the wash. It didn’t reach much past her hips. She had the toothbrush he’d bought her last week stuck in the side of her mouth.

They all froze, and the moment seemed to stretch out between them interminably, until his mom cleared her throat and elbowed him in the side.

This spurred him into action. “Uh, Mom, this is Elle.” He turned to Elle, “This is my mom... Donna,” he added belatedly.

His mom stepped forward. “Elle, honey so nice to meet you finally. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Elle pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth. She smiled weakly as she shook his mother’s hand. “Thank you. I’ve heard so much about you, too. I’m just… going to go put on some pants.” She turned and darted into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

His mom turned back to him. “So, that’s Elle?” she asked in a stage whisper. “’Elle, the girl I’m tutoring. Just a friend, Mom. Really’ Elle. Tell me, _Em_ , how many of your _friends_ prance around your apartment in their underthings at nine o’clock on Sunday morning?”

Emmett didn’t respond immediately. To his horror, he caught sight of Elle’s bra (bright pink, naturally) draped over the arm of the couch, where they had tossed it the night before. Emmett’s astute legal mind went into overdrive calculating angels and the probabilities that he could move over there and knock it behind the couch before his mom saw it. He glanced at her and his hopes crashed. She was looking at him so knowingly it was likely she’d already seen it.

“Well?” his mom prompted again.

“Well, obviously things have progressed,” he said at last with a shrug. His mom laughed.

The bedroom door opened and Elle emerged. She was now wearing jeans and a rather bulky jacket that was too warm for the early summer day. There was still a little bit of toothpaste in the corner of her mouth.

Emmett felt his chest get warm. So many girls would have just stayed hidden in the bedroom until he could get his mom to leave. Not Elle Woods. She always faced her challenges head on. He walked over to her and slung his arm around her waist.

“Do you want some coffee, Ma?”

He mom was looking at them with a smile. “No, thank you. I have Dunkin in the car.” That seemed to remind her of why she was here. She caught herself. “Oh, I can’t stay. Lenny’s double-parked downstairs. I just came by to drop off these.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of mail. She handed the bundle to Emmett. It was a variety of mail in his name that was still getting delivered to his mom’s despite repeated forwarding orders.

“Anyway, I have to go. Lovely to meet you Elle. You’ll have to come to dinner sometime, if my son ever picks up his phone. Though, I imagine he always takes your calls”

“Okay, Ma. I’ll walk you down.” He squeezed Elle’s side, before following his mother into the hallway.

*

When he returned to the apartment, he found Elle sitting on the floor in the spot she’d been in when they had left. She was staring at the floor, her hair a curtain around her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, sitting down beside her.

“Oh Emmett,” she sighed, not looking up. “I can’t believe I just met your mom... like that.”

Emmett grinned. “I think you looked great.”

She huffed out a laugh. She looked up and met his eyes. “I was just hoping I could make a better impression on her than my parents did on you.”

“What do you mean? I like your parents.”

Elle rolled her eyes. “Emmett, my dad made you park his car!”

Emmett laughed at the memory.

He had been standing outside the bar where Elle’s impromptu “First Legal Victory” celebration was taking place. He was hoping to grab Elle on her way in, so maybe they could actually have a conversation about, well, them, when her parents rented Mercedes had half pulled into the spot in front. Her dad had gotten out, spotted him, and called out, “You’re Elle’s friend, right?” Before Emmett could respond, her dad had handed him the keys and, with a gesture at the car, said “Would you mind pulling that the rest of the way in for me? Good man.” Then with a clap on his shoulder, he and Elle’s mom disappeared into the bar before he could respond.

The situation worsened when Emmett realized there was no way their car was going to fit in the spot, and he had to move it three streets away. By the time he got back to the bar, Elle had already arrived and was surrounded by a throng of her friends and admirers. It had taken another two days before they had gotten things settled between them. It hadn’t seemed particularly funny at the time, but…

“Hey, at least he didn’t try to tip me.”

Elle groaned and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

“Come on,” he said, getting up and pulling her to her feet. “We’re going to be late for brunch.”

Her expression brightened. “You’re going to come?”

He nodded. She squealed and kissed him, before darting back into the bedroom.

For Elle Woods, he’d put up with a lot. Even seventeen dollar oatmeal.


End file.
